Why the hate on Sunshine?!

[kwazi07]

The Premium Balconies are the Aft Wraps. If you click the link on my signature, you can see photos of the Deck 6 Aft Wrap. (I believe the photos are on the first or second page of the reviews)

OK. Thanks!

 

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[GeorgiaMomof4]

@georgiamomof4...We are in and interior spa deck 11.

 

 

 

 

We booked today - assigned an OV cabin on Promenade deck - aft. Looks like a good location.

 

I just hope everything works out and we get to go! Definitely buying insurance!

[Ahays00]

@georgiamomof4...Yay! Happy to hear. How old are your kidos? Are they joining you or just you and the hubs?

 

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Edited September 24, 2014 by Ahays00

[Spaniel Lover]

Here's the thing that bugged me about the Sunshine, and the reason I doubt I would ever sail on her again. I'm 57 years old, so I like a more relaxing cruise than a 20 year old would like. My favorite place on any Carnival ship is always the adults-only aft pool. There's no DJ back there... there's background music, but it plays softly in the background... there's no screaming kids... no hairy chest competition going on... no one from the entertainment staff screaming over the P.A. system... it's just a nice quiet place to spend some time cooling down in the pool, talking to other passengers. Also a good place to just lay out in the sun. And, on quite a few of the ships, there's a sliding dome that can be closed if the weather turns bad. I love it back there at the aft pool.

 

Unfortunately, on the Carnival Sunshine, there isn't one. They removed it during the renovations. The only two remaining pools on the ship are at the noisy mid-ship area where the DJ and the hairy chest competition and all the loud stuff happens. Even the Serenity Retreat, for goodness sake, is within earshot of all that noise from the mid-ship Lido pool area.

 

If you like the atmosphere of the mid-ship Lido pool area on other Carnival ships... I bet you'll be perfectly happy with the Carnival Sunshine. But if you're like me and you like the peace and quiet of the aft pool... you'll miss it very much on the Sunshine.

 

That's the bad news. The good news is that the Sunshine has Carnival's BEST Cruise Director, Jaime Dee. Plus, Guy Fieri Burgers, the Blue Iguana Cantina, and all the other good stuff Carnival's come up with in recent years. So, as long as you don't require your Serenity Deck to be serene and you don't care that there's no quiet aft pool... you'll have a great time on the Sunshine.

 

A full Carnival Sunshine review, with photos and videos... plus a tour of the Captain's Suite, is here.

 

In my opinion, Carnival's best ship is the Carnival Breeze. Read my review, with photos and videos, here.

 

But I'd have to say that the most state-of-the-art cruise ship in the Caribbean right now is actually the Norwegian Getaway. Read why I say that, including how it compares to Carnival, here.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Spaniel Lover

[sailingwithfriends]

You are correct. There is not an adult only pool that is in a quiet location. The adult only pool is near the music, etc. However, the Serenity Deck is 3 levels. The further up you go, the quieter it gets. If you sit on the bottom level, you can hear the music. The top level has lots of quiet, hang out places and places to sunbathe.

[Surfwench]

Thank you, Spaniel for sharing your Captain's Suite pictures.

 

You would love the Serenity area on the Legend. It is completely aft and has it's own pool and hot tubs. Complete with a bar, covered seating area, and hammocks. We thought the Serenity on Breeze was far too windy so spent minimal time there.

[jimbo5544]

Don't bother. As you can see, comprehension is not his strong point, no matter how many times you try to explain what you meant.

 

And yes, your point was crystal clear. ;)

 

I can comprehend just fine, even some of your posts. :cool:

[jackparts]

Everyone has different expectations on a cruise. As I posted earlier, the smell can be bad, and at times, really bad. Now I have read in this thread, the smell is still there and Carnival has added cabins, paying for more revenue. Why could they not solve the smell while renovating. The smell was not from the shower drains, I went around asking for water to be run to see if it would help. It didn't and at times, it was memorable.

[jackparts]

Back again, hit the key too early by accident. One last question. When Carnival renovates any ship, the name stays the same. Everytime but once. The Destiny became the Sunshine. Why change the name unless there is a reason. Especially to such a BRIGHT and different name.

[Ken076]

Please do a review when you return!!! Ken

[CruiseFan3035]

I'm headed out on the sunshine oct 12. Myself , dh, ds(15) and we are all super excited. I have read the reviews and am not going to let it get me in a mind set that we are doomed for a bad experience. I am happy and consider myself blessed to be going. I can have a good time anywhere. 20 more days!!! Happy cruising everyone :)

 

 

We are on that one too :)

 

 

Me 😃

[EZ4]

Back again, hit the key too early by accident. One last question. When Carnival renovates any ship, the name stays the same. Everytime but once. The Destiny became the Sunshine. Why change the name unless there is a reason. Especially to such a BRIGHT and different name.

 

The Destiny had a horrendous reputation for break downs, a/c problems and generally looking run down. Re-naming was no doubt an attempt to bury those memories with a new name. Unfortunately, Sunshine quickly picked up a laundry list of bad reputations of it's own. Triumph and Victory were also supposed to undergo the same extensive conversion as the Destiny, but those plans were quickly scrapped, after the debut of the Sunshine.

[chiefillini99]

Sailed the Destiny and a year later went on Sunshine and we loved the Sunshine. Would absolutely sail again. Only had a crowding issue one day when it rained right around lunch time on a sea day. I cant imagine any ship in the fleet that would not be crowded at that point.

 

It is always funny to me that people will trash a boat that they have never been on. So many of the negative posts regarding this ship come from people who have never stepped foot on the Sunshine.

 

If its a boat and an itinerary you are interested in then you should book it and enjoy your vacation.

[deetrayn]

I have seen negative (and positive) reviews about every ship I have been on. If the ship and itinerary looks like something I want to try, I go and judge whether I like it or not for myself. :)

 

Dee

[martinhughes1]

Ditto on the Liberty...our least favorite out of the 8 ships we have sailed on.

[travler27]

When someone doesn't like a particular ship and posts that information on here I think they are doing so in an effort to give others the benefit of their experience. For some reason it seems that when the Sunshine is involved there are some on here who take that as a personal attack and feel a need to lash out at anyone who was disappointed in the Sunshine.

 

It's just weird. :)

[mick9589]

On the same cruise (Oct 12) and excited beyond words. Vacations are what you make of it. I won't be cleaning up after myself or cooking or working...good enough for me!

[jujibee]

We were on Deck 6 in one of the Premium Vista Balconies. It was wonderful. Hope you have as good of a vacation as we did.

 

Thank you so much! We are really looking forward to it.

 

 

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[ttown]

Hands down Sunshine has the best Serenity area we have experienced on any Carnival ship. On our second Sunshine cruise we had a balcony on the Serenity deck which made for both a very quite location and very short walk to the pool. The only negatives were the slow elevators to the Serenity decks and the small size of the comedy club. On ships such as Conquest, Magic and Glory the aft pools are not truly adult only and often the music is so loud it is hard to read. Sorry Sunshine left NOLA as we would love do go on her again.

[travler27]

Sailed the Destiny and a year later went on Sunshine and we loved the Sunshine. Would absolutely sail again. Only had a crowding issue one day when it rained right around lunch time on a sea day. I cant imagine any ship in the fleet that would not be crowded at that point.

 

It is always funny to me that people will trash a boat that they have never been on. So many of the negative posts regarding this ship come from people who have never stepped foot on the Sunshine.

 

If its a boat and an itinerary you are interested in then you should book it and enjoy your vacation.

 

How could you possibly know "they have never been on"? Can you provide any examples?

[PaulMedik]

I guess for me, it just goes back to the Destiny days - one of the worst cruises I have ever been on. The ship was awful and was plagued with mechanical problems. ....

 

 

 

Cruzaholic,

 

We did a B2B on Destiny right in the middle of all of her mechanical problems (October 2009) and she rates up there with our best cruises ever. Sailings before and after ours had mechanical issues, but she ran fine for us albeit we also had the most calm seas for both sailings that I have ever seen; glass smooth water the ENTIRE time!

 

Granted she was showing her age and the public areas were quite dated, but those issues were addressed with the refurb.

 

We are booked on her as Sunshine for our SB cruise next year and may book her for next summer as well.

[jeanneful]

We have been on 17 cruises and 5 different lines, and I think the Sunshine is our favorite!!So there!!! LOL

[carmel]

Because preferences are so subjective, I hesitate to weigh in. But, I've been on 4 lines and multiple cruises and the Sunshine is probably my favorite ship of all time.

 

I just adore the decor. It is light, airy, tropical.....the sports deck is super, Blue Iguana and Guy's were fantastic (and I never waited 'forever' - be smart about the times you want to go), the Asian made-to-order was scrumptious, the Italian place back by the Asian place at lunch was amazing......The dining room was beautiful and the food was very good. I had some dishes that didn't wow me but certainly not a higher percentage than if I were home and ordered 'wrong' at a normal restaurant. The Maitre'd was so very, very nice. All of the crew were extremely nice. I thought the ship was just beautiful and I NEVER felt crowded.

 

I did not take in any shows so I can't speak to that. I know my parents did have to wait a while prior to the show but they really never complained about it.

 

I just loved, loved the ship. When I started seeing the negative reviews, I just couldn't understand it. The ship was sparkling clean, pretty, 'open', never smelled sewage. Oh, almost forgot, there is a small place outside of......ugh, can't remember it but it was a bar and down from the casino that made the most delicious salads. Sorry, can't be more specific. Lunch time really seems to be the time where you can go sample different 'stations' to eat and I love each one.

 

We cruised on her in April and I can't imagine she's gone downhill that fast.

 

I honestly think if you go in with an open mind, don't set sky-high expectations and determine to see the silver-lining in all things you can, you will really enjoy her.

 

I'm on the Fantasy next summer and I'm a bit scared as she's an older ship. But, I'm just going to go in with a determination to make the most of every second.

Edited September 25, 2014 by carmel

[ExFed drvr]

On the Sunshine Jan. 2014 and will say that it's crowded. Did not like that they put the Serenity Deck on three levels and right in front of the loud big screen TV. The theater is a joke with tables and chairs on the bottom level and not enough seats. Did not like the buffet layout either. We spent most of our time in the Red Frog. I have 39 Carnival cruises and will not sail the Sunshine again. Dennis

[kwazi07]

OK guys, I was watching some videos on YouTube of the ship and I NEED TO GO ON. It looks so awesome. I would actually rather go on her than Celebrity! One weird thing is that the buffet seems to be comprised of JiJis , Havana Bar, and Cuicina El Capitano. Is this true or is there an actual buffet?

 

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